It’s Friday already?… well, here’s the headline of the week for me… “Bernanke: Financial crisis taking toll on economy”… you think? that guy is just BRILLIANT… i wonder how he came to that comclusion…

anyway… it’s been a busy week and i’ve frittered away way too much of my time, but alas, i’m here and i have a few minutes to talk about a few things… today, i’m going to talk about the recent presidential showdown at the Saddleback Corral, the emergency hunger crisis, and two books that i’ve finished, but not yet reviewed… i’m told that summer is almost over and thus, the Mark Lee hosted summer reading club is on its last legs… i’ll also tell you about some new stuff from the front page… let’s get it on…

HIGH NOON

to the tune of Rodeo - Manafest

Rick Warren invited both presidential candidates into his church for a faith forum… two discussions of policies and faith followed, each about an hour in length with the candidates taking turns on the “hotseat”… i didn’t get to see it live, but it’s currently available to watch on CNN.com… i can’t obviously comment on each point that was brought up, but i will talk about a little bit that stood out…

First off, i thought both Obama and McCain started off shaky, Obama fumbling for his words (which actually lasted the entire interview) and misinterpreting the first question (”I wouldn’t limit myself to three” - no one asked you to) and McCain falling into stump mode, but they both also relaxed a bit, McCain, in my opinion proving to be more comfortable on the stage, in the church and within his own identity…. in fact, identity came up as an issue for me as well, and i think that will be obvious as we go along…

The second question, “What is your greatest moral failure?” really hit the mark and, for me, exposed something important about the character of these two men… i’ll take them out of order and praise McCain for his response… “I’m not a perfect man, but the failure of my first marriage was my greatest moral failure”… this response was met with silence and really struck my own heart’s chord, stirring within me empathy for McCain… Obama’s response on the other hand, seemed to be fine, but the more i let it sink in, the more i found myself a little bit disgusted by it…

“I had a difficult youth.”… “My father wasn’t in the house.”… “I experimented with drugs and I drank”… “[there's] a certain selfishness on my part”… fine… here’s the thing that bothers me… selfishness is fine as an answer at face value… selfishness is common to us all and certainly qualifies as a moral condition… however, i had two problems with this response… first, he prefaces it with excuses… three excuses that pass the blame on to people (or substances) other than himself… it’s as if he’s saying, because i was preconditioned to fail morally, i became selfish and made selfish choices…

the second thing that bothered me was that it’s a very genaric answer… it’s like saying “i have ten fingers… and because of that i had to learn how to use them all”… well, we all have ten fingers (well, ideally) and we all had to learn to use them… it doesn’t tell me anything specifically about you… it seems rather disingenuous and more of a tactic to avoid revealing anything personal than an actual answer… it’s the equivalent of “my greatest weakness is that I try too hard” answer at a job interview…

Next up is a biggie… and even though it’s a question about a specific issue - in this case abortion - but the responses again reveal far more about character and identity… again, i’ll do this in out of order… Question: “At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?”… McCain, without hesistation responses, “From the moment of conception.”… simple as that… he then states that he’s always been pro-life and he’ll always be pro-life… very clear cut and straight forward…

Obama’s answer, on the other hand, was full of stammering and revealed yet again, a lack of character and substance within this presidential hopeful… “To answer this question theologically or scientifically with any specificity is something that’s above my pay grade”… excuse me? above your pay grade? are you not running for the position of the most powerful person in the country and at times, the world?… nothing is above your pay grade…

but more generally speaking… “One thing that I’m conviced of is that there is a moral and an ethical question to this issue”… um, thanks, Captain Obvious… “I am pro-choice… not because I’m pro-abortion, but because I don’t think that women make these decisions casually”… i’m sorry, but… SO WHAT?… if i choose to rob a bank, it’s a decision that i’m sure to wrestle with and struggle with and not something that i would do “casually” but it’s STILL WRONG OF ME TO DO…

He then goes on to explain that the real concern is how to reduce the number of abortions, which makes sense and i agree with him on that, there do need to be programs in place to help expectant mothers and parents who don’t know how they’ll raise their children once they arrive… support systems and all that… but education? i think everybody knows that having sex may result in pregnancy even if you’re not married or not out of high school… we don’t need more education, we need less escape clauses…

More brief things that stood out to me throughout the interview, besides the constant struggling to put words together, was what seems like an inconsistancy between preventative actions for abortions and later for orphans (”We need to reduce the number of orphans in the world”)… but a hesitation for preventative actions in defense of the nation militarily…

Also, it seems inconsistent to me that Obama keeps driving home “Whatever you do to the least of these”… as an important concept for America to embrace… providing for the least of these… but ignoring the unborn children… and another minor thing that i caught that raised my eyebrow is that Obama mentioned that his faith in God meant that “hopefully” his sins will be washed away…

McCain dabbled a little in the stump speeches, but he also told a lot of stories which resonate very well and, i think he further defined himself as a man and a candidate which is something that Obama continually shifts away from… in trying to be all things for everyone, i think he’s making himself a tin man with no heart or substance…

MY TIME IS UP

so that took longer than i expected and now i must go… you can check out the Brandon Heath Interview and this week’s album reviews in 25 Words or Less on the main page and i’ll be back with more later…

peace… love… bdg….

time just doesn’t stop moving forward, does it?… perhaps it isn’t as long between entries as it seems, but it feels like i’ve been slacking… and i probably have been, but when it actually feels that way, then i know something’s up… anyway… i’ve done a little tweaking on the front page, trying to tidy things up, make them look prettier and such and there’s plenty more of that to come, but one step at a time… i also began work on some new ideas for content and hopefully they’ll turn out pretty well… and hopefully they’ll be up in the next day or so…

this morning, i started working through a devotional with little boy… he had gotten this devotional at backyard Bible club last week… and the first lesson was about Martha inviting Jesus and his disciples over to her house and all that went with it… and, being a devotional, it asks questions of the reader… and one of the questions was, “If Jesus came to your house, what would be the first thing you would say to Him?”… and, i kid you not, but i was floored by little boy’s answer… the first thing he would say? “I love you, God”… theology from the mouth of a five year old…

now, to be fair, i’m pretty sure he’d follow that up with “What did you bring me?”, but hey, it’s still an awesome bit of child-like faith…

HOWLING AT THE MOON
to the tune of Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog) - Iron & Wine

House of Wolves
by Matt Bronleewe

You may be shocked to learn that i’ve finished this book already… that’s right, the whole 315 pages or so only took me about a week… and that’s mainly because i could hardly put the thing down… the binding is laced with super glue so, it sticks to your hands… seriously, though, Matt Bronleewe spins a fantastic tale of adventure and intrigue, suspense and action that i was anticipating each new chapter… now, i’m anticipating the next few promised books in the August Adams series…

I don’t want to give away the plot or anything, but House of Wolves deals with an ancient book with powerful mysteries, a secret society seeking world domination, riddles, mysteries and spear… i did have a minor gripe with the story in that it seemed to abandon a plot line that i thought it would continue, but it doesn’t really detract from the story at all… i’d say that it’s along the same genre lines as the National Treasure franchise, the Indiana Jones franchise (at least the original trilogy) and the like… but don’t think for one instant that being in a similar genre makes the August Adams series a ripoff by any means… this is a great, original book and it’s clear that a lot of research went into it…

in fact, i was reminded of when The Da Vinci Code was hot on the market and spurring on boycotts and such and i couldn’t help but think that this was the appropriate response to such a book/movie… rather than more Christians coordinating protests, we need more folks like Matt Bronleewe creating media that rivals whatever the latest controversy is…

House of Wolves hit the shelves yesterday and it’s got a full-force recommendation from me…

THESE FIVE RINGS
to the tune of Olympic Fanfare and Theme - Boston Pops Orchestra & John Williams

okay, i have to talk a little bit about the Olympics since it’s pretty much everywhere you look… i heard something ridiculous like NBC and company are broadcasting five times the amount of coverage as hours in the day… i suppose that includes commercials and commentary and such, but yowsas… that’s a lot of coverage… and it’s still unbelievably frustrating in my opinion…

anyway, before i get started with any specifics, is it just me or does anyone else expect a TIE Fighter fly-over whenever you hear the Olympic theme song… just reminds me so much of the Star Wars theme… okay, so, i’ve watched my share of the Olympic events thus far and it’s enjoyable as ever… i don’t think there’s ever any other time that i could actually enjoy watching things like gymnastics or kayaking… the swimming has been really fun to watch as well - some incredibly close races and, of course, lots of golds for Mr. Phelps… hmm… i wonder why no one’s played on the Mission Impossible theme with him and his quest for the most medals ever…

which brings me to my point… what the heck is wrong with the Olympics these days?… i remember when it was about nations coming together, laying down arms as it may be and celebrating atheletic achievement in various disciplines… maybe i’m naive, but i don’t think it even mattered so much as to which country won, but it was a time when our common interest - that of bettering ourselves as humankind… the five rings of the emblem stand for passion, faith, victory, work ethic, and sportsmanship… the design represents a unity, a joining together of all nations…

Somewhere along the lines, it all became about the medal count… one more chance for “my” country to be better than “your” country… one more way to exert some sort of power over someone else… certainly those competing still have a sense of comradery, but it’s really just resolved down to one thing… did “we” win more than “you”… and i think that’s a large part of why i have a hard time getting excited about the Olympics these days… why i think people don’t really care as much any more… it’s not quite as exciting as it used to be… it’s not quite what it used to be…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of Saint and Sinner - Derek Webb

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

So, i’m getting to a point where i may have a dry spell from finishing any books for a week or so… hopefully, i can get caught up on the reviews… (i still have three to do, i think)… Also, i just today got a copy of Sinner by Ted Dekker… i’ve never read a Ted Dekker book… and this is why… they’re all tied into each other and i have to start back at the beginning, but i haven’t gotten the Circle Trilogy yet… this book is like the ninth in the Book of History series, apparently and Ted says that it stands on its own… perhaps we’ll see…

Completed…

Working through…
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 50 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Quiet Strength (Dungy) [about 280 pages left]
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder) [about 280 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- FlashBang (Steele)
- Sinner (Dekker)

FULL LIST HERE…

TH-TH-THAT’S ALL FOLKS

okay, my time is up… i’m sure there’s Olympics on or something… coming soon are some new features, new tweaks and my list of the songs that changed the church… i’m still waiting for some of your lists… come on now, people… let’s get cracking…

peace… love… bdg….

What’s up world… what is up?… well, i’m trying to get the ball rolling here and over on the front page andit’s no small task… i’ve been thinking through a lot of how i do things and what things i should focus on and what dreams and goals i should pursue and which should be left flopping on the floorboards of the fishing boat or tossed back into the lake…

today, though, there’s some new content on the front page, a conversation in the making, some movie thoughts, book thoughts, and… are you ready for some football?… and more… so let’s get going…

FAVRE AND AWAY
to the tune of Trade Winds - Frank Sinatra

Stop me if you’ve heard this before… an athelete retires after one of his best seasons ever and then… wait a minute nope… heeeeee’s BACK…. okay, this time it’s football and this time it’s Brett Favre… after much speculation immediately following his retirement at the end of last season, Favre is back, ready to suit up in the familiar green jersey… as excited teammate Donald Driver said, “He’s back in business”

but wait… something’s different… there’s more to the story… in fact, that green looks like it’s a different shade… oh… Favre’s a Jet… didn’t see that coming…

THE FATE OF THE DANCEFLOOR
to the tune of Dance or Die - Family Force 5)

i meant to do a quick look at this album earlier, but now that it’s only a couple weeks away from releasing, time is even more of the essence… well, i’ve been listening to this one for a while now and the most obvious thing to say about it is that it’s totally different from their last album… different label, different style, different everything…

Well, that’s the easy button… and i’ll pass on that… remember that time that Family Force 5 kept saying over and over how they wanted to bring the party back into the music scene?… well, their last album really rocked out and gave plenty of people fits as they tried to categorize the group and this time around… well, it’s just a non-stop party… you’ve got much less classic, southern rock, much more synth, much more euro-pop, much more volume and they’ve cranked the crunk way past eleven… it’s certainly a fun ride, but i’m sure that it’s not for everyone…

THE PEARL
to the tune of Love’s Done Something - Casting Pearls

So we watched a rather odd movie last night called Girl With a Pearl Earring… i did not pick the movie, it picked me… well, enough of that… but here’s the thing… Colin Firth of Pride and Prejudice fame stars as Johannes Vermeer, the famous Dutch artist and Scarlett Johansson stars as one of his house maids, Griet… as the story unfolds, it was interesting to see how the two interacted with each other… Scarlett is obviously an attractive gal and has gained the notice of some nefarious characters in the film and Vermeer takes her in and allows her to assist him with painting… it seems that he’s actually protected her from rape by agreeing to paint her and then, by the end, Vermeer’s wife who has a rather creepy countenance about her finds out about the painting and throws Griet out of the house…

Afterwards, we were talking about the movie, because it wasn’t perhaps the best film we’d seen, but a question about the relationship between Vermeer and Griet came up… whether or not he liked her inappropriately or not… and there’s a scene when the wife is yelling at Vermeer, asking why he would paint Griet and not her which is pivotal to the movie… his response was that she understood… and in that moment, i got a picture of Jesus responding to the guests at a certain banquet who were pretty ticked off about Mary washing His feet with expensive perfume…

“Why would you let her do this Master? It’s seems like such a waste!”

“She gets it. She understands what’s going on while the rest of you - even my closest companions - are clueless.”

i don’t know, it was just an interesting picture of an artist preserving beauty and innocence and rewarding someone who honestly tried to follow and understand art… i don’t know that i’d recommend the movie, but it was interesting in that way at least…

PRINCE CHARMING
to the tune of The Kings and Queens of Old - Harry Gregson-Williams (from Prince Caspian)

Prince Caspian
by CS Lewis

Okay, it’s about time that i start catching up on these reviews, right?… first up is Prince Caspian, which continues the Narnian saga… and it’s easy to see why they chose this book to continue the big screen adventures of these zany kids and their wild escapades… seriously though, it was better than i remember from the days of my youth and it’s got all kinds of intrigue and adventure… tweaks the farthest reaches of your imagination and finds the right moments to poke you back to reality…

The standout jab for me came from Lucy, i believe, as she was talking with Susan as they trudged through the thick woods… she asks a rather poignant question about what might happen if humankind resolved themselves to the basest of existence over time as the animals of Narnia had given up talking and acting appropriately… it’s a stark glimpse at what the world might look like as our collective conscience continues to erode… great book though… i wish i had gone to see the film while it was in theaters, but now i can’t wait for the DVD to come out…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog) - Iron & Wine

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

Okay, so i still have two more reviews to go to catch up… well, scratch that… i just finished another book today… that’s right… i’m on FIRE… Searching for God Knows What has officially been added to the completed pile… i have so many thoughts about that book that i’m going to let it stew for a bit before i offer any formalized thoughts on it… anyway, this is the updated list… i fully expect to be finished with House of Wolves this weekend as i can’t hardly bear to put it down…

On a somewhat related note… Mark Lee recently celebrated the birth of his new daughter, Katherine Marlow Lee, so between that and touring the new Third Day album, he’s been a bit tied up… Congrats to him and his family…

Completed…

Working through…
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 130 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- House of Wolves (Bronleewe) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder)

FULL LIST HERE…

DON’T GO AWAY MAD
to the tune of Moving On - Needtobreathe

Oh, jeepers… i just realized i forgot something… one second… ah, never mind, i’ll do it here… on the front page… we have a pretty interesting interview with Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic and author of such books as, Wide Awake, which is on my completed pile… we talked largely about the book and dreams and things of such nature, but we also had a few laughs and veered off topic now and again… i felt like it was one of my better interviews though, so, you can say yay or nay after you’ve read it…

Also littering the front page is a brand new Walk TRu… but it’s unlike any other walk TRu i’ve ever done… i think… it’s based on this new album that Starsong put out this week that names what they considered to be the thirteen CCM songs that most changed the church… now, i know “change” is vague and “church” is vague and “CCM” is kind of vague, for that matter… but i’m asking you to get involved… tell me what 13 CCM songs YOU think have had the biggest impact on the Church… hopefully that rewording has made it clearer… but, yeah, tell me why you agree or disagree with their choices and tell me what should’ve made it… you can leave your thoughts here in the comments or email them to TRuMoments [at] GMail.com…

my thoughts are coming soon… let the discussion begin…

peace… love… bdg….

Well, i’ve been a bit out of it lately, haven’t i?… can’t really offer anything spectacular by way of an excuse other than i’ve been distracted… today, though, i’m trying get through some topics even though there are plenty of things that i should be doing… i’m hoping this will maybe get me a little more focused, but we’ll have to see…

i managed to do an interview with Erwin McManus last week and hopefully i’ll have that ready to go soon… i also had the pleasure of an enjoyable office mate yesterday when little boy came into work with me… (littler boy gets to come in tomorrow)… and the most curious thing for me was that he kept requesting soundtracks to listen to… and by soundtracks i mean original motion picture scores… so, with that in mind, the songs today will all be from various movie soundtracks…

BI-POLAR DISORDER
to the tune of Why So Serious? - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (from The Dark Knight)

well, i have to start this out with The Dark Knight… went to see it last night with a few guys with stomachs full of Five Guys and anticipation eating away at us… i’m going to try to talk about it without giving anything away, though based on the box office records, everyone’s already seen it… it was phenomenal nothing less than everything advertised plus some… easily the most intense villainy in a superhero movie that i’ve seen and so many ideas and one-liners to chew on and really think about…

i’ll finish by mentioning what was my favorite aspect of the movie which was the mind-bending blurring of lines between good and evil… the clearly defined black and white life that i’m used to seeing presented is fine for younger audiences, but the line they came back to a few times, “you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain” is rather thought provoking as well as the exploration of whether or not everyone is capable of corruption… another key line - “You have these rules that you think will save you…” - had me immediately thinking of the Pharisees and realizing the depth of the human experience that is presented in the Bible…

anyway… very good movie… very intense… if you’re of age, i recommend it…

NO MAS
to the tune of Ants! - John Williams (from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

i don’t complain much… okay, maybe i do, but today, i’m going to complain a little bit about things that have been really driving me nuts lately… besides the ants that refuse to give up on my house as a source of food, shelter or whatever the heck they’re looking for…

1. CAPTCHA: Seriously, it’s a shame that we’ve gotten to the point on the web that just about every form needs to have a CAPTCHA box… if you don’t know what that is, it’s those silly images that have sets of letters or numbers that you have to read and type in order to compete your order, post a comment, or whatever… half the time i can’t even read the stinkin things… and i’m not a machine

2. ACLJ: i used to listen to Jay Sekulow Live every day when i was in a big talk radio stage and just let the Christian talk radio station play in the background all day… and i’m supportive of Christians doing important legal work and all that, but the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) has been calling my house at least three times a day and as early as 8 in the morning… they need to get off my case and work on their case load… they’re DRIVING ME CRAZY…

3. TYPOS nothing distracts me when i’m reading a book - a final, retail copy of a book - more than typos… i can understand one or two but when i was reading through Boys Should Be Boys, i was interrupted by no less than FIFTY… i just have to wonder why i should trust the authority of someone who doesn’t know the difference between their, they’re and there… and the next gripe is big enough for it’s own category…

PROFITS OR PRAISE
to the tune of The Sales Pitch - Danny Elfman from The Kingdom

Okay, so everyone already knows about the whole Testa-mints thing and we can all see the tee-shirt slogans that mimic beer tee shirts and stuff like that… and just when you think the “money changers” have reached their limits, they push the envelope a little bit further… the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) was a few weeks ago and as always, it served as the epicenter of “Jesus Junk”… i didn’t attend the show, but i’ve been hearing about some of the items heading to market…

not surprisingly, one of the items showcased at ICRS was Guitar Praise which is a Christian music only version of Guitar Hero that’s due out in September… it plays on your computer, independent of any video game systems and plans to feature 52 songs from all over the map… i don’t particularly have a problem with this to be honest, since it makes sense on some level… i do have a problem with the tag line there…. “Spirit-Filled Guitar Game for PCs Lets Anyone Live Their Rock Dreams” since no game can be spirit-filled, but hey, why not rock out to your favorite CCM tracks, right?

and then it got ugly… allow me to introduce you to 1 in 3 Trinity Energy Drink… that’s right, a Christian energy drink… one that vows to “Energize your mind and your body”… it could be the flavor of your life since it’s “fused with Fruit of the Spirit”… one thing i’m pretty sure of is that it probably tastes better than the puke that just bubbled up into the back of my throat as i read that…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of The Kings and Queens of Old - Harry Gregson-Williams (from Prince Caspian)

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

so i’ve got three books finished and waiting for reviews, but i don’t particularly have time to write those up just yet… i also updated the Amazon store with reviews and such, re-ordered the items to put the ones that i finished up front, and added some new books to reflect some of the latest additions… i was overjoyed to receive a pre-release of Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden and i also got a copy of Matt Brownleewe’s new book which hopefully won’t leave me confused for having not read Illuminated yet… i was going to ask for advice in that regard, but it turns out that House of Wolves isn’t out yet either… oh well, i’m probably going to start that one tonight…

I also requested a copy of The Shack, since it’s such a hot topic book it seems, but i haven’t heard back from them yet… i suppose if i find it cheap enough sometime next year or something, i may pick it up… otherwise i guess i’ll just miss that boat…

Completed…

Working through…
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller) [about 125 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 160 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- House of Wolves (Bronleewe)
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder)

FULL LIST HERE…

BEFORE YOU SAY GOODBYE
to the tune of Wish We Had More Time - Trevor Rabin (from Get Smart)

i am working on a few things, but nothing’s quite made it to press yet so i don’t have any special links to throw in here at the end with an obligatory plea for you to peep them… perhaps another day, but you can start dreaming about stuff i’m writing including some interviews (Erwin McManus, Warren Barfield, Chris Sligh), reviews, Left to Write and more… also next time out, i’ll talk about purpose, family force five, one or two or three books and eventually, i’ll get back to that whole best in the world thing… thanks for playing!

peace… love… bdg….

and we’re back… i would say that i feel refreshed and ready to take on the world, but i actually have something of a dull headache and it took less than a half hour before i was reminded why i look forward to vacations… at least i remembered not to punch the wall too hard so that i can’t type or anything like that… anyway, let’s get back into it, shall we?

STAY-CATION

to the tune of Permanent Vacation - Aerosmith

oh how nice it would be if i could just check out from the corporate world and just live… no dealing with the demons of the office… no headaches… no stress… well, the problem with that is that it would take me a long time before i got to a place where i would be able to effectively produce anything… as evidenced by the last six days when i took a vacation that became a “stay”-cation when we decided to center our efforts at the house…

oh, we did lots of things… we took the boys to the movies, went bowling, visited Monticello, went to a water park, hung out, went swimming and littler boy even graduated from wearing pull-ups to bed to wearing “bigga-boy undawears” (without accident so far even)… it was all great fun, but on the production front… writing here or anywhere, i did SQUAT!… of course, it’s good to unplug and just kick back for a time and i do get the sense that i’m trying to do too much most of the time, but as restful (and tiring) as the time off was, i couldn’t help waking up this morning and thinking about all that i had hoped to accomplish… and all that i didn’t…

no biggie… i guess… i’ll just take it for what it is… we’ll figure it all out another day…

REALITY BITES

to the tune of Wipe Out - The Surfaris

‘Tis the season for reality television and the networks have pulled out all the stops… and we all wish they would just simply stop… i tell you, if it wasn’t for cable, netflix, and hulu, i don’t know what i would watch… there are a few of the reality/game shows that i haven’t been able to avoid though and here are the top three of maybe three…

03. The Mole: i was pretty excited when i heard that this show was coming back and it hasn’t really let me down too much… i do remember liking Anderson Cooper a lot better as a host, but this new guy, Jon Kelley, is alright, but i tend to get annoyed with him now and again… didn’t watch the celebrity version of it, but i think it’s been long enough between the original season and this year’s for it to be fresh again… if i have to guess today, i’d say that Craig is the mole, but i think if i were playing, i would’ve taken the $30,000 bribe money in week three as well…

02. Last Comic Standing i can’t believe that this is the sixth season of this, but it’s the first season that i’ve watched and i think that it’s unfortunately already suffered from the same talent-leak that Idol has experienced… Some of the comics have good material tough… i think that the funniest one was voted off back in Vegas though… talking about a billboard that read “Pregnant? You’re not alone” she mused, “You’re not going to be alone for a long time…” Anyway, i’m mostly glad that God’s Pottery was voted off… they were annoying… if i had to pick a winner, i’d say it’ll be either Iliza, Jim, or Marcus…

01. Wipeout this one certainly falls under the category of guilty pleasure, but i’ve enjoyed watching these episodes on ABC.com… it’s perhaps the lowest form of humor, but i really crack up at the bravado and the constant reminder that pride goes before destruction and a haughty (aka braggadocious) spirit before (several) great fall(s)…

honorable mention goes to Celebrity Family Feud but that’s mainly because the cast of My Name is Earl was absolutely hilarious as they stayed in character to deliver some of the most ridiculous answers imaginable…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Summer Again - The Afters

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

running out of time here, but this is my latest updates…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Deadly Viper Character Assassins (Foster & Wilhite) [audiobook]
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter)
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee)
- Simplicity (Salomon)
- You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader (Sanborn)
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker) [about 20 pages left]
- The Dip (Godin) [about 35 pages left]
- Prince Caspian (Lewis) [about 100 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Wide Awake (McManus)
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

Brandon Heath absolutely crushed me yesterday morning… not that he reads this, but Brandon, i owe you one when next we meet… see, i don’t normally listen to music in the car anymore, but since i had finished the podcast i was listening to and only had a short while to go before work, i click-wheeled over to Brandon’s new album which i guess isn’t out yet, but i’ve really been digging the first track called “Give Me Your Eyes” which talks about seeing the world through God’s eyes, which is sobering enough, but then he follows it with “Wait and See“…

That doesn’t mean much to most of you, since the album’s not out and all, but i think i’ve made it pretty clear that work has been a continual frustration… and, well, i’ve been weighing my options, praying and wondering what to do next… kind of like asking myself what i want to be when i grow up and realizing that i already have the responsibilities of a grown up… anyway, driving into work, Brandon smacks me across the head with the following lyrics…

Amazing… anyway, this is a short work week which also helps make it go down smoother… let’s talk about a few other things, shall we?

MR ROBOTO

to the tune of Mr. Roboto - Styx

We went to see the new Pixar/Disney film Wall-e on opening day… my wife managed to get us admission for four for about six bucks which was good because she fell asleep a few times during the movie… i enjoyed it quite a bit and the boys were cracking up on and off throughout the whole film… the first thirty minutes don’t include any dialogue, but that didn’t seem to bother either of them as they enjoyed the physical humor of a robot discovering various items in the trash piles…

Certainly there was a strong hint of the whole global warming issue which i’m sure will cause someone to scream about liberals in the media, but i mean really, it was more of a social commentary about our own laziness… too lazy to clean up after ourselves, leaving piles of trash everywhere so that we need to escape the world to a cruise where no one has to do anything for themselves and we become the floppy beings who can’t even stand on their own two feet…

the real message was about finding purpose in life, breaking out of the routine and standing for something… nothing wrong with that…

CRAZY CHRISTIANS

to the tune of Drive It Home - Paul Alan

So, i came across two different articles about the “Conservative leaders” secretly meeting last week and deciding to support John McCain for president… this doesn’t surprise me at all, since any exploration into the character of Obama hasn’t led me to put any trust in this man… I’m not saying that McCain is perfect, but for what it’s worth, i’m more confident in his leadership than i am in Obama’s… (besides, i’ve been told that Obama is, in fact, the anti-Christ and that once he’s elected, we have seven years until Heaven)… (actually, that leads me to a different topic, but i’ll have to come back to it later)…

The Charisma article has an interesting quote that kind of echoes what i think will be the main thrust of the campaign… “‘The alternative is so bad we must support John McCain,’ said Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum”… this, folks is what they call a lose-lose situation… this is where they say to keep your chin up and make the best of a bad situation, knowing that it could be worse… in situations like that, there’s honestly no winner…

Of course, the truth of the matter is that Obama is an absolutely terrible alternative… Mike Janke goes into great detail about Obama’s stand on abortion, pointing out that his support extends to partial birth abortions and even the killing of infants who have managed to survive such procedures after they’re out of the womb… not at all consistent with his emphasis on the youth of the nation, though i suppose… well, never mind… Furthermore, Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of George Bush and soon to be author of The Faith of Barack Obama, talks on and on about the sincerity of Obama’s Christianity, stating that he is both unapologetically Christian and unapologetically liberal… but most interesting is the final line of the article… “Mansfield said he will vote against Obama in November for a single reason: ‘Because I’m pro-life.’”…

I think the biggest danger is the defeatist attitude that may keep voters on their couches instead of voting in November…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Summer Again - The Afters

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

I wasn’t sure that i’d get any finished this week, but it looks like i will… maybe even two… gonna have to make some adjustments to avoid the oh-fer next week though… and i think i need to pick some lighter books… i’m imbalanced in the non-fiction side of things…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Deadly Viper Character Assassins (Foster & Wilhite) [audiobook]
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter)
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee)
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 10 pages left]
- You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader (Sanborn) [about 75 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker) [about 180 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Wide Awake (McManus)
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)

FULL LIST HERE…

MOVING ON

Hey, everyone, have a great fourth of July weekend… really… don’t blow off any fingers or toes or burn down any houses or whatever… just have fun… celebrate the establishment of this great nation… we can work on keeping it that way starting on Monday…

peace… love… bdg….

Well, it’s been a weird week so far… i’m currently watching/burning to DVD the last game of the NBA Finals to free up what is apparently unneeded space on my DVR since there’s nothing on television anymore… i can’t wait for the return of Psych, Monk, The Closer and Burn Notice… maybe even more, but those four come to mind right now… until then, we’ll have to settle for whatever we can scrape up from good old netflix… dang, another three-pointer from Ray Allen…

I’ve also been reliving the days when i watched the NBA regularly by moving my old video tapes of the 1996 NBA Finals onto DVD as well… how great would it be to see Jordan, Pippen, Harper, Rodman and Longley square up against Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and Perkins… oooooh… that’s the ticket… i can’t hardly BELIEVE that it was TWELVE YEARS AGO… crazy…

Of course, i’ve also been doing a lot of reading as well and my updates are below… it looks i’ll be able to go in for the kill and finish at least one of those books this week… possibly two, but at least one… and as they get checked off, you can expect brief little reviews in keeping with my agreement with the reading club thingamabob…

Okay, let’s move on shall we… this game is wrapped up and i’m ready to get this blog party started…

CHEATER CHEATER CHEATER

to the tune of Still Suspicion Hold You Tight - Black Rebel Motocycle Club

Okay, so i’ve mentioned before, probably several times that i enjoy playing the games online… particularly word games, but i’ve been known to delve off into puzzle games and other nonsensical flash-based games as well… and when it comes to word games, i like to win… and i do win a lot, but not always… i’m okay with losing and whenever it happens, i try my best to take it with grace…

And so it was that after handily defeating someone at a particular word game and then losing the rematch as they improved their score significantly it was a logical next step for me rematch again and dig in for the “rubber match”… Well, my scores remained pretty consistent, but their score, again, improved significantly on the back of a string of perfect rounds… chalking it up to good luck on their part and still wanting to win, i opted for another rematch…

However, as i watched them kick off the opening rounds with more perfect scores, my suspicions got the better of me… i researched the possibility of cheating in such a game as this… previously it hadn’t even occurred to me, but the suspicion holds me tight as they say and as it turns out, it is possible and there is no doubt in my mind that this individual was juicing up their scores… that last game - and it’s the last i’ll ever engage in with this particular person - unfolded with perfect round after perfect round… not only was the fun evacuated from the situation, but my concern for this individual grew as well… i mean, come on, how messed up and insecure do you have to be to cheat in a friendly game to make yourself look better?…. man, that’s insecurity at it’s apex… what a shame…

UNO DOS TRES CATORCE

to the tune of Like Spinning Plates - Radiohead

So i woke up Tuesday morning after an interrupted night of sleep and the room is spinning… it seems that i got up during a bad sleep cycle or something, but my equillibrium was all messed up… i tried my darndest to fight through it as if it were a passing feeling, but this vertigo had set in for the day… i ended up calling in sick and going back to bed… by the afternoon, i was able to be on the couch, eat lunch and do a little bit on the computer and such, but every time i turned my head, the images seemed to be proccessing in slow motion… i felt like i was in the matrix…

Little boy made my day by coming over, wrapping his arms around me and informing me that he had prayed for me three times and then, for good measure, prayed again right then and there… such a sweetie… clearly, i’m back on my feet again, but that was a wild day and i didn’t particularly like the way i felt…

SHORE ENOUGH

to the tune of Stronger - Seabird

New on the music front this week is a band called Seabird… i know what you’re probably thinking… you’re thinking that if it came out this week, i should be writing a regular full-on album review for it instead of putzing around here in this blog with just a brief mention, right?… well, it’s here or nowhere for this week… i’m backed up beyond belief and as hard as i try, it’s gonna be a while before i’m back on track… besides, you wouldn’t have the enjoyment of this handy little album player here to my left if this were an actual review…

Anyway, Seabird hit the scen a little bit ago with an EP that turned some heads and with the pedigree of being on Credential Recordings, you know it’s gotta at least be interesting music, right?… indeed it is chock full of pleasant melodies and artsy hooks… the sound may not be entirely unique anymore with the recent insurgence of indie rockers on the mainstream scene, but Seabird seems to hold their own on that front and i think that songs like “Rescue” and “Stronger” are certainly worth giving ear to…

TWITTERFIED!

to the tune of Lead Me On - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

So, i finally caved and signed up to join Twitter… it’s nothing all that special, but see, what sold me is that there’s a growing number of artists using it and if you follow them, you can find out about upcoming projects and tour stuff… that’s what i was convinced of when i peeked in and saw the Bart Millard was recording for Hymned Vol 2…

other spectacular things i’ve learned since signing up? Vicky Beeching doesn’t own a vaccuum cleaner, but she borrows one from her neighbor… Cindy Morgan has fed a camel… Brock Gill likes chocolate…. Aaron Shust likes to make bad puns about his friend’s names… the guys from downhere like to run… someone from Dizmas doesn’t watch where they’re walking…

clearly this is an invaluable tool… though, i’ll admit, it is how i discovered Mark Lee’s book club…

RIVER ADVENTURE

to the tune of Veggie Doodle Dandy - Veggietales

So, despite Tuesday being all but a complete loss… i was able to give the boys a treat since they were pretty well-behaved… after they had gotten into their jammies and were ready for bed, i gathered them up, one on each side, and we planted ourselves on the couch to screen the upcoming Veggietales release, Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue…

My first thought was how daring it was to choose Huck Finn as the inspiration for a Veggietales film simply because i remember clearly that it’s been the subject of banishment, censorship and whatnot throughout the years, but of course, it is a classic and it’s a very memorable story of two pals and their adventures… and it translates very well to the capers of Bob and Larry… The sink scene was clever and really set the tone for the rest of the film…

It’s a hair-raising tale of friendship, sacrifice, and doing what you know is right… it’s also a fun tale of bluegrass, babies with signal flares and fried chicken… the boys enjoyed it, i liked it and it’s a winner… due out July 12th… check it out…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Word of Mouth - John Reuben

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… i keep adding more titles, but hopefully i’ll get to cross some off…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Deadly Viper Character Assassins (Foster & Wilhite) [audiobook]
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter) [about 15 pages left]
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee) [about 50 pages left]
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 75 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker)
- Wide Awake (McManus)
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

FRIDAY!… word up… it’s the weekend… and hey, food fight!… more on that later… i promised to try and get a few somethings written up today and here i am… trying…

Anyway… i’m pretty happy that it’s the weekend and i don’t have much planned… a possible barbeque to attend… a few chores around the house perhaps… but mostly lounging, wrestling with the littles, kicking back, writing?, trying to stay cool in the heat… and of course they will be reading… (my updated reading list is below)… for today, before i start the relaxation, here’s a handful (five fingers, five topics) of items for the old blog… on we go with the program…

01. VIVA LA SOMETHING OR OTHER

to the tune of Lost! - Coldplay

Coldplay released their new album, Viva La Vida and i’ve been listening to it… mostly in the background of my normail work noises (keyboard clicking, chairs scraping, etc), but i’ve managed to get a pretty good feel for the album… and i like it… it’s a clear step forward for the group and i think they’ve broken out of the mold that they cast themselves in on the last few albums… “Lost!” particularly stands out to me as one of the defining tracks for the album… the lyrics are pretty intriguing on that song, too… my only complaing is that it feels like the album blows by even though it actually clocks (get it?) in at about 45 minutes…

02. REAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

to the tune of Hero - Hans Zimmer & John Powell (Kung Fu Panda)

I guess this falls into the catagory of books, but it’s probably considered cheating for a book club… anyway, Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite have written a book and started a campaign for character… They called the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins and you can get a free audiobook version of it on their site, DeadlyViper.org and while you’re there, check out the blog and the videos to see more of what it’s all about…

personally, i opted for the audiobook since it was free and immediate, but i plan to pick up a hardcopy of the book at some point to, because it’s definitely one to keep handy… besides the great content of the book itself, there are some interview tie-ins that add to the conversation and enhance the message… i’ve decided that i’m going to try to get an interview set up with one or both of these guys to further explore this topic a bit… i’ll keep you posted…

03. TOO COOL FOR YOU

to the tune of Play My Music - Jonas Brothers (Camp Rock)

so… the food fight… yeah… i’m watching Camp Rock which is the new Disney movie starring the Jonas Brothers and… hey, shut up… nothing wrong with laying up once in a while… we don’t all have to tin-cup every hole… anyway, the movie runs about an hour and a half after commercials are fast forwarded and i’d guess that the script writing process took about half that time… okay… it’s not the best script… it’s not the best plot… it’s predictable and makes you groan over and over… but it’s the Jonas Brothers and i have nothing but good things to say about them… they’re good people and they always put a smile on my face…

i still think back fondly to the first GMA Week i went down to Nashville for… i was a little nervous and such and wondering why i had agreed to interview the then 13, 16, and 18 year old brothers… turns out that they were the most enjoyable interview of my time down there that year… very down to earth and i’d interview them again in a heart beat… (seriously, imagine the traffic i’d generate with a Jonas Brothers interview… guys, hook me up)… anyway…

04. CODE BEE

to the tune of Viva Los Lakers - Grand Incredible

So, i was totally wrong about the NBA Finals this year… if you remember (and if you don’t it’s a few entries down), i predicted that the Laskers would win in seven… well, they lost in six and they seemed pretty fortunate to have made it that far… in my defense, when i made my prediction, it was predicated on the assumption that Kobe Bryant was the game’s best player… clearly he is not… and clearly, all these references to him being “as good as Jordan in his prime” are absolutely ridiculous…

Does it seem like i’m being too harsh?… sorry, but the best player in the game does not disappear in the NBA Finals… Kobe was a waste throughout the finals and, even though the Celtics defense deserves a lot of credit, MJ would’ve figured out a way to win because he actually was the best in the game when he was playing… perhaps you can say Kobe is the next Clyde Drexler… anyway…

05. HOPE DEALER

to the tune of Bob the Builder - The International TV Orchestra

Okay, so here’s the thing… i forgot to mention that Barack Obama came within three miles of my house a while ago… He had recently locked up the nomination and was stumping at a first come first serve free for all venue that made me nervous about traffic… it crossed my mind that it might be neat to see this man up there on stage repeating the same speeches he’s been repeating for eleven months or so… mostly, i realized that it would be empty words from a cardboard cutout of a man, just like pretty much everything else related to politics…

I know that he’s running as the candidate of change and the candidate for hope and that it’s resonating with lots of people, but i’m not buying it… i think the most interesting thing about his campaign is how well it’s exposing how bad our society has gotten… we’re so discontented with everything that we have, we so don’t appreciate the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, that we’ll (as a nation) jump at the very promise of something better… all you have to do is put it in a pretty package and tell us that it’s better and we’ll start drooling at it like it’s the new iPhone or the latest fashion accessory…

The problem is that the President of the United States is NOT a fashion accessory… nor is he (or she) the messiah… it’s sad to see how many people buy into the same old rhetoric time and time again… it hurts more everytime you are failed… it deadens your ability to truly trust… it makes us more cynical, more skeptical, and more scarred… we are worse off for it… i have more on this, but you’ll have to wait until i have time to finish up the next Left to Write…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Word of Mouth - John Reuben

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… i keep adding more titles, but hopefully i’ll get to cross some off…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 110 pages left]
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee) [about 175 pages left]
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter) [about 90 pages left]

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

Well, it’s Sunday and i’ve managed to complete another wonderful training / instructional manual… i’m turning into quite the technical writer while still maintaining the normal duties of my actual job title… i’m still pretty tired and all, but i’m glad to have those both behind me for now… i’m sure there’s more coming and all, but right now there’s something of a lull… a break in the action… a chance to catch my breath… and, since it looks like i’ll be completely offline for the next three days while we frolic and play at the all-staff retreat (really sit around and listen to an endless string of presentations only to retire to a shared room assignment with none of the comforts of home), i’m imagining that my day job will be pretty slow at the beginning of the week…

So what on earth will i do with myself if i have no access to the grand old internet and no television and no privacy?… well, hopefully, i’ll manage to get a number of interviews transcribed, get a number of other things written, get a little bit of reading done and, hey, maybe even sleep… i’m actually trying not to think about it too much, since it begins early tomorrow with a four-hour car ride with three coworkers…

Anyway, it’s Sunday and, since i’ll be out-of-pocket the next few days, i figured that i should get a few things written down to have something to show for myself in my absence… playing behind me at the moment is an episode of Mrs. Columbo which is a bonus feature of the Complete Third Season of Columbo… pretty fun… i love me some Columbo… but now let’s move on…

ROCK WHAT YA GOT

to the tune of Hey Hey - Superchic[k]

So, we’ll start with some music… i got the new Superchic[k] album the other day and have listened to it a few times… my boys actually enjoy it quite a bit too… they’ve even informed me that the song “Hey Hey” sounds very much like the modern version of “Cruella De Vil“ from the 101 Dalmations DVD… could be… anyway, it’s a pretty fun album and everything you’d expect from the group, but part of me thinks it could’ve been better…

THE BIGGER PICTURE

to the tune of Ignition (live) - TobyMac

so, i wrote this heading in the other day and had no idea what i was supposed to write about… but now i remember… TobyMac is taking a cue from U2 and hitting the big screen… apparently, tomorrow, the Alive and Transported video will be playing limited engagements in theaters… around here, there’s one showing at 7:30 PM… but check your local listings if you’re into that sort of thing… it’s probably a cool idea… my boys enjoy the DVD a lot and it’s better for their ears than a live show…

AND LOVING IT…

to the tune of Get Smart - Bob Crane & His Drums And Orchestra

i for one am really excited about the upcoming movie version of Get Smart… i think that Steve Carell is a great choice for Agent 86 and i always enjoy a good dose of The Rock… not so sure about Anne Hatheway or the lack of the 70s era, but i think it’s going to be great… until it’s ready though, i’m going to sit back and enjoy one of my latest silly acquisitions… the entire original series on DVD, complete with a collector’s box that opens in three different directions like the command center of Control…

ONLY ONE

to the tune of Sirius - Alan Parsons Project

So, the NBA Finals are on and man, can they draw games out or what?…. i finally ended up watching game one between the Lakers and the Celtics the other night and i’m pretty tired of hearing about what a storied rivalry it is… great, i get it… i saw some of it growing up… and none of those guys are playing in this series… now, THAT might be something interesting… anyway, it looks to be a good series and i say that as someone who rarely watches the NBA anymore because it’s just, i don’t know, off… as i see it, it had it’s hey day and that’s now in the past… doesn’t seem to be reviving itself anytime soon… i’ll watch these games - all on a DVR delay - and i’ll probably enjoy it… and i’m picking the Lakers in seven… (tonight they’ll win by about 17)…

IT’S POTTY TIME…

Mute Math is working on a new album (cheers all around)… and they seem to be recording a lot of it in the bathroom… i guess we all potty break the same… (har-har)… anyway check out this preview video…

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of The End - Derek Webb

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg… Well, i finally finished this book… actually i finished it maybe a week and a half ago, but i’m finally wrapping up this coverage… the final section of the book tells us how to win… it reminds us that we need to focus on collecting the right types of trophies and then, in the last chapter it tells a story about a painting… the painting is called “Check Mate” and the story tells of a chess expert perturbed by the painting’s title because, “the King has one more move”… (of course, there’s a typo in the chapter title as it’s printed on the page headers - “the kind has one more move”)…

this really stood out to me because i was playing a game of chess at work and i was informed with a great deal of pride and boasting that i was in check mate… now, i hadn’t paid much attention to the game up to that point because there’s been a lot of things going on at work and chess wasn’t exactly the most important thing to worry about much less strategize for… but, something about the snideness of this guy’s voice… “check mate, but you must’ve known that was coming”… all of a sudden, something within me wanted to win… i had been resolved to lose and chalk it up to distraction… but now… oh, i wanted to win… suddenly the game mattered… and fortunately, when i went to check out the board, i discovered that he was wrong… there was another move… in fact, five moves later, i had taken his rook, bishop, knight and queen… and two moves after that, he conceded to defeat… check mate… that was music to my ears…

it doesn’t really relate to the book, but it made me happy… anyway, i thought the book ended rather abruptly, but it’s not like the ending was a surprise or anything… it was a good book overall…

NEXT UP

to the tune of You Make It Look So Easy - Stavesacre

Simplicity by Mark Salomon…

so, i’ve already begun the next book and i’m not sure how much opportunity i’ll have to blog about it, because methinks that i’ll be done with it rather quickly… i’m about 50 pages in already and i’m totally hooked… and what, with my downtime coming up this week, i may just plow through the whole thing… also worth noting, it’s available at the Relevant Book Store for FOUR DOLLARS… normally, i’d be using an affiliate link to try and poach a few pennies from anyone kind enough to buy it, but it’s such a good deal and Relevant is such a good place to support that it’s the link i chose…

SUMMER READIN’

to the tune of Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

I’m also using those two books as my entry into Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… it’s supposed to be really laid back and i don’t have much of a clue what the rules are, but since i stumbled upon it and i have a hard time saying no… i’m IN…

AND WITH THAT…

it’s time to go… but wait… there’s more… a quick glance at the front page will reveal a splendid little interview with Paul Alan… thanks for peeping that…

peace… love… bdg…

i promised myself that i’d write again before it was time to do the whole American Idol thing and yet, here it is again… Tuesday staring me square in the face laughing at my lack of discipline… mocking me with my own voice… well… anyway… it is Tuesday but it’s not time for Idol… not just yet anyway… and i’ve not been idle in the meanwhile… in fact, i’ve been so busy that i’m ready to burst…

in the past week (though it feels like one long day), i worked on building out a new site for my brother and sister in law, i transcribed a lengthy interview, i wrote two feature articles, i wrote a couple reviews, i did a walk TRu, and i sketched out some work on a few other projects i have whirling around in my head… all this on top of my day job, the duties of which have exploded over the last five days or so… this is going to be one hectic week, i’ll tell you that much… so much so that i missed out on having a sabbath this past weekend and i’m a little discombobulated… anyway… my time is probably short, so let’s go ahead and dig in…

MOVIE MONDAY

to the tune of Assets and Targets - John Powell (from The Bourne Ultimatum)

Well, i finally got around to watching the third installation of the Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and all i have to say is woah… not like a Keanu Reaves, Matrix, “woah”… a serious, have i taken a single breath this entire movie, woah… i normally try to do some work or whatever on my laptop while the movies are playing, but not while Jason Bourne was on… i had a tough time taking my eyes off the screen the entire time and that’s how an action movie should be… if i’m watching an action flick, i want to be completely taken in by it… i want the little boy in me to be acting out the fight scenes for the next few days after watching it… bottom line, The Bourne Ultimatum gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me…

RETURN OF THE TALK

to the tune of Jesus is Just Alright -dc Talk

So i’ve realized that i don’t talk music enough here on the old blog, which is genuinely odd since this is primarily a music website… if i made any bread and butter, you could say that music is where i’ve made it… and since i enjoy the older stuff too, when i saw this headline… dc Talk Reunites. . . i naturally had to check it out and share it with you all… i knew we’d all be excited together… (note: yes, i realize that it is what it is)…

WHERE IS THE LOVE

to the tune of Love Is Here - Tenth Avenue North

And now for perhaps some more serious musical news… hot new band Tenth Avenue North who’s debut record is set to release next week has released a video for their lead single… the video for Love Is Here seems to pay a bit of tribute to The Beatles and U2… or maybe i’m reading into it too much… anyway, the song’s really good….

IN OTHER WORDS

to the tune of Violet Hill - Coldplay

When the Game Is